Can you teach/help a baby to sleep through pain?

[GiraffesAndButterflies]

DD (13m) is two different children at night. Not in pain: will sleep up to 8 hours at a go, if she wakes will often resettle herself. Falls asleep in her cot pretty quickly with me there. In pain (gas/teething): cannot sleep lying down. When I put her down (asleep or awake) she rolls about in pain and cries. She will only sleep on me.

We've spoken to the gp and hv about her trapped wind and they basically say we're at the 'normal but unlucky' end of the spectrum. Teething- I give her painkillers, but can only do that so much! I just don't know what else I can do.

Sleep training- she is literally inconsolable as soon as she's horizontal, so gradual retreat and pupd won't work. I'm not willing to do CC, especially since she's crying from pain rather than from not wanting to sleep.

Other than desperately hoping her gut will mature a bit more and stop hurting her, what can I do?!

Have you tried propping the top of the cot up on books or something so that she's not actually lying horizontal?

Teething: get Anbesol liquid, it is incredibly effective.

I post this so many times on Mumsnet, I feel like a company rep! (am not)

Have you looked into what foods may be giving her gas? Could you give her an earlier tea so she has more time for her dinner to be digested before bedtime? Dd has tea at 4:30pm , and sleeps from 7:30-7ish. If you're worried she'll wake hungry from an early tea you could give her a small snack before bed.

Totally agree with you for not leaving her to cry btw.

Thank you for the suggestions!!

We haven't tried raising the cot for ages, I'll give that a go again. We tried it months ago and argued debated whether it made a difference at all- good idea to try that again.

Bonjela type gels work sometimes. She won't really wake up enough to try a toy, she's mostly either asleep (as soon as I pick her up) or crying. I'll get some Anbesol to try!

We haven't been able to spot any foods that cause it. She doesn't have any other signs of allergies etc. I'll try moving tea earlier. She's not desperately hungry when she wakes up so I don't think that would cause any problems. And frankly if she were to sleep through and wake up for the day at 5am I'd count it a massive victory!

Last time I went to the dr I practically begged him for more support. But he doesn't think she has signs of reflux or silent reflux- nor do I- and he said doesn't really have anything to help just with plain wind. I asked for referral to a dietician or someone but apparently as DD is gaining weight and healthy, it's me rather than her that has the problem, so the gp's referral was declined by the dietician.

Thank you all again. Last night was my worst ever, I got 2 1/2 hrs sleep. So even just planning some new things to try is giving me a morale boost :)

Has she got a pillow? Might be more comfortable if her face is sore with teething.

Why don't you do a food diary? Because u think it is unfair to expect her to sleep through pain when you wouldn't. Make it very detailed and you could be surprised.

Your doctor sounds shit to be honest. Plain old wind . She has problems when lying flat - that is classic reflux. Wind would be bothersome whatever position.

Both of mine had terrible silent reflux/trapped wind. Causes were dairy, soya, onions and green veg (peas, broccoli). So I cut out or kept to a minimum.

Another thing which helped was peppermint tea. A teaspoon in a beaker of water. I would give a sip before bedtime and when they woke at night. Made a huge difference.

I agree. She does show signs of reflux.

Please suggest a trial of reflux meds?

Quite surprised to see so many people saying reflux! She doesn't have any symptoms other than gas, so far as I can see. Tonight she has slept till 2, woken up and passed quite a lot of gas (with help from me) and now is chewing the edge of my dressing gown (she's not hungry tho).

If reflux was the problem wouldn't it have started earlier in the evening? It's now ~7 hrs since she last ate.

I don't trust her not to try and suffocate herself on a pillow! She sleeps on her front and she'd just burrow straight into it.

Food diary and peppermint tea- more things to try, thank you.

kotinka - thanks, yes, it's pretty insane!

reflux doesn't have to be close to feeds. I should I know: my reflux is worse when I haven't eaten for a while, including middle of the night (guess what woke me. I'm posting at 3.30 am ffs).

reflux is uncomfortable not just when it's milk returning, but when it's stomach acid rising, too.

Sorry to hear that learn, thanks for the info though! I thought it was a post-meal thing and once digestion started moving food out of the stomach then the reflux danger was passed.

We put DS, very bad reflux, on his tummy. At 13m that should be fine.

Ask doc for instant Gaviscon.

I'm in shock. Last night she had Zantac before bed (spat it almost all out though), I tilted the mattress on towels and she Slept. Through. The. Night. First time ever. I literally haven't had that much sleep since 2012. She stirred three times but resettled herself every time, I didn't have to go in and she was back asleep within a minute every time.

We had tilted the mattress before, and she's been on her front since about 7 months, but I don't think we ever tried both those things together. Magic combination.

You guys are bloody MIRACLE workers if this isn't just a one off. I can't tell you what this will mean to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I almost wept with joy and relief when I woke up this morning!!

Thank you

Anbesol is brilliant. Just used it and inconsolable baby is now snoring baby,

Isn't it Ralph! Tell everyone, I don't know why it's so little known. Teething gel is useless

I get it at Boots, but they do keep it behind the counter so I'd say pharmacy only. Never seen it in a supermarket. There are multiple Anbesol products, not all suitable for babies. The liquid is. It's £5 for what seems a tiny vial but it lasts a long time, it's powerful stuff. Oddly pharmacists don't seem aware of it for teething either. Baffling to me. I tried it after seeing it recommended here, now I am evangelical! as you can see

Update: Friday was another great night, she was awake for about 15 mins at midnight, other than that slept through till 5.30. Magic

Tonight's a different story, she woke up at 1 and her cheeks were absolutely red hot. Given her ibuprofen but she's woken up a few more times since, I need to get the Anbesol!

She's been really suffering with her teeth during the day too though, so I think that's the main problem. I can handle a few rough nights with teething probs if they're the exception rather than the norm...

kotinka yes definitely, it is for the treatment of ulcers too, according to the packaging.